You just asked the question that's been worrying me. I got so tired of being told something was OFF, that I decided to go with the default and turn it ON.

I think Sony is saying: "When the FOCUS MACRO default setting is [ON], you can focus on a subject closer than 2 5/8 feet in full Telephoto. When FOCUS MACRO is set to [OFF], you cannot focus on a subject closer than 2 5/8 feet in full Telephoto."

Thus, one would turn FOCUS MACRO [OFF] when was shooting through a screen door, for example.

But what is the minimum focusing distance when FOCUS MACRO is [ON]?

In the ZOOM section of the manual -- it says you can focus down to almost 1/2-inch in Wide. Which means, I think, FOCUS MACRO only applies to Telephoto, which is why it really should be called FOCUS TELE MACRO.

Thanks for the help.

Can you describe the "pause" when shooting 24A.